The morning was sunny and crisp with a blue sky and a heavy dew. We set off to drive back along the Great Ocean Road to Anglesea but left the caravan so we could stop and look at the scenery. At Anglesea we turned around; at that stage we were looking for a good photograph of the lighthouse at Split Point which has been well-named because an outlying rock stack looks as if the headland has been split.
Heading back through Aireys Inlet we continued towards Lorne with a stop at the Great Ocean Road memorial commemorating the 3,000 returned servicemen from the First World War who built the Great Ocean Road using only hand tools. After lunch in Lorne we returned to Apollo Bay; the day had become warm and sunny with a blue sky.
Differences along the Great Ocean Road became clear as we drove along it twice between Anglesea and Apollo Bay. The section on the Geelong side of Aireys Inlet fits the image of the "Surf Coast" tourism title with a succession of long sandy beaches between cliffy headlands. The road runs mostly close to the beach and there are beach access points with parking areas; surfers were widely seen on these beaches. South of Aireys Inlet the coast changes to a series of headlands with rock shelves skirting the land to seaward. The road follows the curve of the land about 12 to 20 metres above sea level with minimal civil engineering work. Because it follows the land the road is continually entering, in, or leaving a bend. The road is mostly two comfortable lanes of bitumen; there are no overtaking lanes but there are very short sections called turnouts where slower vehicles can pull over to let following traffic pass. Lookout areas on the seaward side of the road allow vehicles to stop for occupants to admire the scenery.
Between Aireys Inlet and Lorne, south of Eastern View, the Great Ocean Road negotiates a series of hairpin bends following the sides of a creek. The road here is two minimum-width bitumen lanes with no shoulders; driver concentration is particularly needed on this section which is the most demanding between Anglesea and Apollo Bay.